KUALA LUMPUR (March 2): The ringgit was slightly higher at opening on Tuesday, buoyed by mild interest despite the stable US dollar and lower crude oil price which is trading at US$63.69 (RM258.27) per barrel, down by 1.13%.
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At 9am, the ringgit stood at 4.0510/0550 versus the greenback from Monday’s close of 4.0550/0580.
A dealer said in the near term the local note is expected to trade lower on an unexpected deeper slide of Malaysia’s February Manufacturing PMI.
“The anticipated lower Feb PMI, steady greenback and lower crude oil prices will likely dragged down the ringgit and local equity market sentiment,” Axi chief global market strategist Stephen Innes told Bernama.
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Innes added that indeed, the dreary PMI print underscores Malaysia’s challenges as it seeks a sustainable recovery from the shattering Covid-19 pandemic blow.
“However, I think the sombre PMI mood will be transitory as the economy reopens and in the meantime the pre-OPEC meeting could keep bullish bets on a very tight leash,” he added.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against other major currencies except with the Singapore dollar, which fell to 3.0486/0523 from 3.0441/0470.
It rose against the Japanese yen to 3.7899/7947 from 3.7993/7025, strengthened versus the British pound to 5.6410/6482 from 5.6547/6601 and appreciated vis-a-vis the euro to 4.8766/8830 from 4.8810/8858.- The Edge Market